I did something yesterday I have never done before… I took myself to the movies.
Now, its not that I have an issue with going and doing things on my own. In fact, I’m someone who will rarely actually call a friend to go with me somewhere. I always figure friends have other plans, and why expect someone to go with me to do something I can just as well do myself?
No, it was because I am not a movie-going person. My husband will mention going to the movies, and I usually wrinkle my nose. It’s just SO EXPENSIVE, and do you know how much I can get in done in those two hours? I can probably count on one hand the number of movies I’ve gone to see in the last five years.
However, this weekend, I kept seeing on Twitter people posting about going to the movies. And suddenly… I wanted to go. I wanted to go see a movie. But still, I was on the fence. It just costs so much…
I decided to sleep on it, and yesterday morning I woke up still wanting to go to the movies. It was a very dreary and cold day, so it just seemed to fit. I had some house chores I wanted to get done, though, so I decided that if I got my work done, I would go. So after breakfast, I got to work on the house… and I finished with plenty of time to shower and get to the theater.
I made it to the theater with about 10 minutes to spare before the movie I wanted to see. I walked up, asked for my ticket, and almost walked away when the lady told me how much it was. I kept my cool, but what I wanted to say was, “Seriously!? I can pay that to get into a concert!” or “I can spend that on Broadway and go home with a buzz!” I remembered in that moment why I never go to the movies.
But, like I said, I kept my cool. Got my ticket. Went inside and found the concession lines ridiculously long. I squinted up at the prices and decided I most definitely did not need anything. For a bottle of water, I could almost get dinner out after!
I grabbed a seat in the theater and for once actually stuck my phone down in my purse and ignored it for two hours straight. I laughed at the movie and completely lost track of anything else.
The movie? Not worth the price of admission. It was funny! It wasn’t BAD. It just wasn’t great. I am glad I went to see it, but I am not going to be wanting to rent it or anything later. Saw it once and that was enough. However, the experience of just letting go and getting lost in the crazy world of the movie? Yeah, that was worth the money. Getting out of the house and enjoying myself? Worth it.
I left the theater, and I was HUNGRY. I went to a little Mexican cantina for supper, and when the woman behind the counter asked me how I was, I replied, “Great! I am taking myself out on a date!”
After a delicious meal, I headed home. I just felt so good about myself for going and doing what I did. It really is okay to spoil yourself sometimes. Movies are still expensive, so maybe next time I’ll take myself to a bookstore or something. But, hey, I’m glad I went, and ultimately… that’s what matters most.
I used to take myself out to the movies all the time. But, because of the price I rarely go anymore. I did recently see The King’s Speech though and loved it. And, I went to see Water for Elephants with my sister a few weeks ago. I did not think that one was worth the price although it was a good movie.
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Oh I wanted to see Water for Elephants! But I figure I’ll see it on DVD some day. Its a shame that movie prices have sky rocketed, and the quality of the stories have gone down. :( I heard on the news just last night that movie ticket sales are down something like 13% from last year. They’re out pricing themselves is the problem! Its fun to go, but sooo hard to justify the cost. It was $10.50 for me to go. I could have waited and bought it on DVD for $5 dollars. Crazy!
I love going out on my own. I used to worry about what other people thought, but now I enjoy the freedom to do whatever I want. Good for you taking some fun ‘me’ time.
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Thank you!
I am still not a fan of eating out by myself. Like last night, the whole time I ate, I was reading Twitter posts and whatnot. I can do it, but its still a little discomfort there. I guess because to me, dinner time is a time to “catch up” and whatnot. When hubby is on the road, I eat at the laptop so I can Facebook at the same time. lol But absolutely anything else? I am like you — the freedom to do what I want is priceless. If I want to shop in one store for five hours, I can without worrying that I am boring someone else. Meanwhile, I don’t get stuff shopping at some random store I don’t want to be at either. Its freeing! It’s empowering.
Thanks so much for your comments! I definitely appreciate your words!
I love having some time to myself sometimes. Its nice to feel confident enough and secure enough to just do what you want to do without anyone else by your side, if you want.
I don’t usually do the whole eating out by myself thing but movies, absolutely!
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I was surprised how easy it was to do the movies by myself… and how many other women were there alone! It was empowering!! Eating out still is weird to me, but its not as bad as it was the first few times. I don’t think I’ll ever “get used to it.” But I do think it gets easier….
I’ve only been to the movies by myself once, to see Brokeback Mountain. No one else wanted to go, so one afternoon that I was free and had nothing to do, I took myself to the movies. Amusingly enough, there were more individual people there than couples or groups. And they were NOT creepy! They were just other people (mostly women) who wanted to go see a film. I’m still glad I went. :)
Yes!! When I got to the movie, the room was peppered with women at the movie alone. And we all just kinda looked at each other with respect for being there on our own. It was cool!